I’m going back to Journey’s self-titled first album here, which was released in 1975. The overall sound on this album bears little resemblance to the string of rock radio hits they became famous for in the late 70s and early 80s. In the beginning, their sound was what I would describe as progressive rock with a hard edge. It was dominated by lengthy jamming and instrumentals, with keyboardist Gregg Rolie handling the vocals. Steve Perry was not on this album, as he didn’t join the group until their fourth album Infinity was recorded. What appeared here was the output of a largely different band, although four of the five original members of Journey were still on board when Perry joined around 1978.
To explain the origins of Journey, they started as a kind of Bay Area super group, with Rolie and guitarist Neal Schon having previously played together in the ultra-successful band Santana. Roile’s voice will always be associated with their early hits. Bassist Ross Valory and second guitarist George Tickner came from the much less well known band Frumious Bandersnatch, with Valory also having done a stint in the Steve Miller Band. Drummer Aynsley Dunbar previously served apprenticeships with John Mayall and Frank Zappa. He also led his own band Blue Whale before Zappa convinced him to sign on with his band and relocate to California from his native England. Those five formed the sound that defined the early years of Journey as a band. Most of them were veterans of instrumental and fusion-oriented bands with heavy blues and jazz influences. Therefore, the most natural thing for them would be to continue in the direction of their previous bands, although if they wanted to, they probably could have added a singer with a radio-friendly voice from the start, and at least attempted to write songs geared for airplay. However, they stuck with what they knew best, and the massive worldwide success would come a few years later.
The first three albums of Journey are likely unknown to most of their fans, who are probably unaware that they recorded three albums before Perry joined and the band eventually came to epitomize radio friendly hard rock. It likely wouldn’t appeal to fans who call out for the band to play “Don’t Stop Believing” and “Open Arms” at their concerts. Most of them probably wouldn’t find these albums listenable or interesting, except those who like progressive rock. If I had to compare their sound to anyone else’s I guess their closest musical relatives would be bands like the Rough and Ready era Jeff Beck Group. Maybe bands like Rush or Kansas could be viewed as more distant cousins or maybe something like the Grateful Dead with a harder edge. But this is just my subjective speculation. No doubt there are those who disagree, but it’s pointless to get into an argument about music. There are plenty of better things to argue about.
The song I have posted above is “Of a Lifetime” which is the opening track of their debut album. I don’t know if this song epitomizes their early sound, but at least to me, it is representative. I think it’s a good intro to show what the band’s early sound was about. It starts with two verses , then a long instrumental followed by a third verse, then a climax where Rolie and Schon are simultaneously soloing, and finally ground to a halt. Again, this is a far cry from the gazillion-unit selling band that emerged at the end of the decade. But it was not too unusual for the era it was released in.
This past year, Alice Cooper was inducted to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. As the singer wanted, Alice Cooper was inducted as a five-piece band, not just as Alice Cooper the singer. Four of the five members of that band were there to receive the honor. Guitarist Glen Buxton was the absent fifth member. Although Buxton’s name was not well known, and was mostly out of the music business since 1974, he did exert somewhat of an influence. Randy Rhoads and Steve Vai are two legendary virtuoso guitarists I can think of who have acknowledged Buxton’s influence.
I first heard Glen Buxton’s name when I was in high school. His name came up along with Cooper’s when I was reading about Jim Morrison’s drinking, and the friends he drank with. At that time, the Alice Cooper Group was toiling in obscurity in Los Angeles, and had yet to break through commercially. A few years later in college, I found a book about Alice Cooper in the library, in which a journalist chronicled his experience while touring with the band. I still remembered Buxton’s name, so out of curiosity I began looking for references to him as I thumbed through the book. About 10 years later, in another college library, I found a copy of Me, Alice which was the singer’s autobiography, and since Buxton was obviously a close associate of Cooper for a long time, there would be plenty of ink dedicated to him. A few years later, in 1997, I found his obituary in an issue of Rolling Stone. By that time, the internet revolution was well underway, and there was plenty of information about almost every subject imaginable, that could not have been made public any other way. This medium allowed me to piece together more information provided by those close to Glen, including his sister Janice.
The Early Days
From at least his days at Cortez High School in Glendale, Arizona, Glen Buxton embodied the rock and roll spirit. He got into trouble several times for typical juvenile infractions such as smoking in the bathroom and fighting. The drinking problem which plagued him his whole adult life also originated during that time. But something else happened at Cortez, as well, when he decided to enroll in a journalism class. He probably had no idea how the course of his life was about to change when he first walked into that class. It was comprised of all girls, with one exception, a skinny kid named Vincent Furnier. Vince was originally from Detroit, but his family had moved several times between Detroit, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, partly because of young Vince’s health problems. His illnesses caused him to be absent from school for long periods of time, which in turn caused him to be held back a few grades. Despite his illness, he was still athletic and ran with the cross-country team.
Glen soon befriended Vince and several of his teammates. Their time at Cortez coincided with the first wave of Beatlemania, and Glen and Vince, along with a few of Vince’s track team buddies had caught the bug. They put a group together for a talent show, but not to actually perform live. They wore Beatle wigs and mimed to one of their records. They even had some female friends scream for them, trying as much as they could to recreate the hysteria of a Beatles show. After that, the boys liked the experience so much that they decided to form a real band. The first incarnation of the singer and band that would eventually become known as Alice Cooper was now underway. They all learned to play their instruments except for Glen, who had taken guitar lessons back in Ohio before his family moved to Arizona. At the time, he was the only band member who at least had an idea how to play his instrument.
Going for the Big Time
After spending some time in community college, they decided to get serious, and played around the Phoenix area before making the big move to Los Angeles. It was there that both Vince Furnier and the band became known as Alice Cooper, although there are conflicting accounts of how they came up with the name. According to Cooper’s recollections, their time in Los Angeles was not pleasant, and they were despised by the audiences who didn’t understand who they were or where they were coming from. A bizarre trend was created when it became fashionable among the L.A. club patrons to walk out during their sets. This would actually work in their favor when their act caught the attention of a pair of young businessmen named Shep Gordon and Joe Greenburg, who thought they could turn that negative energy around. Soon, Alice Cooper took them on as managers. They had another connection that would soon work in their favor. Alice was dating a woman who went by the name of Miss Christine, who happened to belong to a band of singing groupies known as the GTO’s, who were put together by none other than future music and counterculture icon Frank Zappa. If anyone could understand a band like Alice Cooper that stood out like a sore thumb among L.A. bands, it was Zappa. After an impromptu audition in Zappa’s living room, the band was signed to his Straight Records label. Their first album Pretties For You was produced by Zappa and went unnoticed upon its release in 1969. Eventually the band decided that, despite being in the music industry capital, they would have a better chance somewhere else. After recording one more album, the band packed up and headed for Detroit, the hometown of Cooper and guitarist Mike Bruce. As the hub of a harder-rocking and more blue-collar music scene, Detroit would logically offer them a better chance. They fit in much better with the MC5 and the Stooges than with the flower and beads California crowd.
The Breakthrough and the Price of Stardom
The big break came when a young Canadian producer named Bob Ezrin took Alice Cooper under his wing and recorded the landmark album Love it to Death which proved to be their commercial breakthrough. The single I’m Eighteen soon became an anthem, and a string of gold and platinum records followed. Their reputation was helped by the same psychology of rebellion that propelled the Rolling Stones six years earlier: The more parents hate it, the more kids will love it. The gory theatrics and the reputation Cooper built up as a pre-Ozzy rock and roll madman broke the bank and their albums sold by the millions while they filled arenas and football stadiums across the country. Urban legends soon circulated, involving Cooper decapitating chickens and drinking buckets of spit, which further perpetuated the band’s perverse mystique and won them even more fans. But in true VH1 Behind the Music fashion, trouble was just around the corner. While all the years of hard work were finally starting to pay off, something was happening with Glen. First, his drinking problem had gotten to the point where an emergency procedure had to be undertaken on his pancreas to save his life. Then his problems with other substances, as well as his deteriorating work ethic, were starting to cause serious problems within the band.
Buxton’s Downfall
In 1973, PBS aired The Louds, the real-life story of a California family which was probably TV’s first reality show. Cameras and film crews were set up around the house, and the family just got used to the fact that they were being filmed all the time, and that their worst moments were the ones that would be presented to the national audience. As a trend, reality shows would not really catch on for another 20 years, but around the same time as The Louds was being broadcast around the country, the Alice Cooper Group became the subject of a reality show in book form. Syndicated journalist Bob Greene was at that time a young columnist for the Chicago Sun Times who intended to make his next project a book about touring with a major rock band. Alice Cooper became that band at the invitation of Shep Gordon. Greene toured with the band as a skit performer, all the time writing about his experience. The result was Billion Dollar Baby. For the first time, fans of Alice Cooper were informed about the good, the bad, and the ugly that existed among the band members. One of the main internal problems was how to deal with Glen. Greene’s memoirs about him were not flattering. His drug and alcohol problems, as well as his disposition in general had taken its toll on both himself and the band. It had gotten to the point where he was constantly late to all band functions, and his playing had deteriorated to the point where he was no longer present at recording sessions, and his amps had to be turned down or completely off at concerts. To keep up appearances, he was still credited as a full band member, but was essentially replaced by studio musicians for recordings, and by touring guitarist Mick Mashbir during concerts. There was talk of replacing Buxton, although for the time being he was kept on. It didn’t matter anyway, because in April of 1974 the original Cooper decided to disband the group, and an agreement was reached that allowed him to go solo and keep his stage name.
Post-Cooper
While Alice Cooper’s success as a solo artist continued unabated, at least for the next few years, the other band members struggled. Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway, and drummer Neal Smith formed their own band, minus Glen. They recorded one unsuccessful album. As for Buxton, he went through several jobs, working in factories and on farms while occasionally playing in bands. He ended up living in rural Clarion, Iowa, far away from the rock and roll life he once lived. He liked his adopted hometown, and was apparently in a position where he could live off of his royalties. He did reunite with two of his Smith and Bruce for a one-off show in Houston in 1977, which turned out to be his last public appearance. A little over a week later, his health problems finally got the best of him, and he passed away at age 49 back in Iowa, from complications of Pneumonia. His family and former band mates made every effort to keep his memory alive. For the first few years after his death, they held memorial weekends for him, one of them featuring a reunion of the surviving band members in Phoenix.
In 1972, The Alice Cooper Group appeared on The Beat Club. I don’t know a lot about that show, but their archives have become a popular source for providing footage of classic rock bands from the 60’s and 70’s as they appeared in their prime. Beat Club clips also showed up frequently in the early days of MTV, in a segment known as Closet Classics. Today, thanks to outlets like YouTube, the clips can now be seen by almost anyone at any time. This particular clip shows the band performing I’m Eighteen. As was typical for their live performances of this song, it was stretched out, with the organ intro played by Mike Bruce, and some extended jamming. It appears to me that Buxton was still playing and functioning well when this video was shot, but I’m not good at noticing things like that.
Fleetwood Mac became mega-stars in the late 1970’s, shipping units by the tens of millions worldwide.But by that time, founding member Peter Green was long gone from the band.They actually began as a four-piece unit with him at front and center, although he also made sure to feature second guitarist Jeremy Spencer as well.Their sound was far removed from that of the pop rock group that they became in the 70’s.At their formation, they were a blues rock band, and at the forefront of the saturated 60’s British Blues movement.Green’s talent and reputation, as well as his (and Spencer’s) unique guitar and songwriting talents, allowed Fleetwood Mac to stand out among their peers in that overcrowded market.
After three years, four albums, and the addition of teenaged third guitarist Danny Kirwan, Green left the band in mid-1970.There are several sources which document his personal problems that led to his leaving.It seems to have started with his growing disillusionment with the music business and stardom, which was aggravated by his LSD usage.He had made his intentions to leave the band clear for several months before he made the move, and except for some sporadic recordings and concerts, walked away from music for two decades.After his departure, Fleetwood Mac's sound moved away from blues rock and became more middle of the road.The addition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks in 1975 finally turned them into the wildly successful band they were in the late 70’s and 80s.
The song I embedded here from YouTube was recorded in 1968, when Green was firmly in charge, and Fleetwood Mac was still decidedly a blues rock band.It is their version of Green’s “Black Magic Woman”, which Santana recorded and had a hit with in 1970.This live version from one of several concerts Fleetwood Mac recorded at the Boston Tea Party.When Santana performed this song at their induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, they were joined by Green.
In 1970, it seemed the blues boom had run its course.In England, the top practitioners of blues rock were starting to move away from the form.Fleetwood Mac lost its leader in 1970, and just a few years later, their albums bore little resemblance to their hard edged blues records from the late 60’s.Eric Clapton has said that after he heard The Band’s Music From Big Pink, he felt that the heavy blues rock he was producing with Cream was now outdated.He soon left Cream and formed Blind Faith with Steve Winwood, and after that short lived project collapsed, he hooked up with Delaney and Bonnie and Friends.It was with from their backing band that he put together the band for his first solo record, which featured the more countrified, down-home blues sound he had been pursuing.He soon toured and recorded with them under the name Derek and the Dominos.While artists like Fleetwood Mac and Clapton pursued a more middle of the road sound, others turned their amps up and pursued a more riff-oriented hard rock sound.Among the latter group was Johnny Winter.In 1970, after putting out two blues- oriented albums, he put together a new backing band, and recorded Johnny Winter and… which took him in a deucedly more rock-oriented direction, although still bluesy.
Johnny Winter had established his career first and foremost as a blues man.It was as a blues player that he got the attention of Rolling Stone magazine, who did a feature on Texas music that included him.It was that article that got the attention of an entrepreneur named Steve Paul, who had Winter perform at his club, and eventually took on managerial duties for him.A contract with Columbia Records soon followed.His first album was largely straight blues, with his second album edging more toward rock.When his third album came out, his music had definitely crossed the line into rock.This transition would continue for the next several years until around 1977, when he released Nothing But the Blues, which brought him back to his first love.
However, in 1970, Johnny Winter and... continued on this early detour.Since the line between rock and blues is thin, and the second album was already starting in that direction, it may seem more like a natural progression.Add to that the fact that he now had a new three-piece backing band formerly known as the McCoys, who struck it big in 1965 with Hang on Sloopy.This new band, of course, featured second guitarist Rick Derringer, who, like Winter, is now a legend.Several of the songs on Johnny Winter and… were penned by Derringer, including Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo, which Derringer made a hit of his own in 1973.I have embedded the YouTube link to that song here.To me, it sounds more raw than Derringer’s, version, which was probably polished to be a rock radio hit.Also, the second and third verses are switched in Winter’s version.
The idea I get from the various Johnny Winter interviews I’ve read is that while he doesn’t regret making his third album, he still would have preferred playing the blues.That is always where his heart was at.I am not an expert on Johnny Winter, but it seems that from 1977 on, he has played strictly blues for the most part.Through the late 70’s playing with Muddy Waters and his band, and the 80’s on the Alligator label, and what I have heard since then, he was and always will be a blues player.He may have crossed back over into rock, or gone into country of jazz at different times, I don’t know.But if his hard rock records of the early 70’s were an aberration, I’m glad he did detour for a while, at least to make Johnny Winter and…
Eric Clapton was probably the first major star of the Blues Rock genre, with a love of blues that went back to his youth.He developed an encyclopedic knowledge not just of the records, but the musicians and geography of the blues as well.Although he later moved onto other forms of music, in his early days Clapton was a blues purist, and shunned other forms of music.When he got his first break with the Yardbirds, he resented the pop songs they recorded once they landed a contract.After finishing their breakthrough single “For Your Love”, Clapton decided that was enough, and didn’t want to be a part of the new direction his band was taking.So he left the Yardbirds as they were on the brink of international stardom.A short time later, he would find another opportunity, and this time he felt he had a home where he could pursue the blues music he loved.
He only stayed with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers for about a year and recorded only one album before leaving to form Cream with Jack Bruce and Peter “Ginger” Baker.However, during his stint in Mayall’s band, his playing inspired such zeal among his fans that the words “Clapton is God” were spray painted all over London.At the time, the average person who saw the graffiti probably had no idea who it was referring to, but his playing had so mesmerized his audience that they had to get their message out. After that year with Mayall, he decided to move on and form Cream. That didn’t last long, either, but it was long enough to establish Clapton’s reputation and pave the way for the mega stardom he achieved in the 1970s.
I decided to post a link to the Bluesbreaker’s cover of Freddy King’s “Hideaway”.This album, as far as I know, was the first in which Clapton used a Gibson Les Paul played through a Marshall amp, which became the signature tone of the British Blues Rock movement.Although British blues guitarists played several different guitars, the Les Paul became the model of choice, with Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, and Peter Green all using it as their main instrument.Eventually, Clapton switched to the Fender Stratocaster, but the heavy Gibson sound is what the standard became after the Bluesbreakers album. This was also probably the closest thing to a pure blues album that Clapton put out until 1994’s From the Cradle.
Since this is the first entry in a blog about blues and rock music, I figured that it would be fitting to start with B.B. King.And I also figured it would be fitting to start with his most famous song.I don’t need to get into a lot of detail about his life and career, as there are many sources on the internet and books that can give a much more exhaustive and knowledgeable account than I can here.I’m glad to see that he is still fairly active at 85, despite both his age and his diabetes.He performs sitting down now, and I’m assuming he doesn’t tour or record as much today, but he is still out there, and still the premier blues artist in the world.His name is synonymous with the form.
It was over a period of several decades that King built his career and his reputation.The pivotal time was during the 1960’s, when blues music in general crossed over to a new white audience.From there, King’s influence expanded and grew to what it is today.There was a blues boom in England that spawned a whole new genre of guitarists such as Eric Clapton and Peter Green, all of whom made no secret of their debt to King.While that was happening in England, something else was happening simultaneously in America. Mike Bloomfield and Johnny Winter rose to the forefront, and like Clapton and Green, sold millions of records along the way.King and many other blues artists now had their sound taken to the masses.It was during that time, in 1969, when King released “The Thrill is Gone”, which became his signature song.
Of course, the above two paragraphs are far too little to explain King’s life or influence even in a nutshell.I didn’t even try to do that.But I do want to find something that will epitomize what this blog is about, which is sharing and discussing blues and rock music.I think it’s a good way to begin.
